-Aria-A very strong wind almost swept me off my feet as the werewolf almost tore at me. But my eyes were closed, and my hands were protectively over my face. Yet it was more than a minute and the wolf was not on me, and the growl had gone wilder and tougher.I opened my eyes, my chest heaving heavily to find another wolf had darted the attack, and the two were fighting on the ground.The new wolf was bigger, fiercer, and stronger, and by the time the wolf that was going to attack me was able to get back up, it had sustained so many injuries. All the other wolves retreated, leaving me and my savior alone.I had not had the time to process all that when Prisca ran towards me from nowhere and held me in a firm embrace.How did she get here? I was too shocked to say anything as I kept looking at the wolf that just saved me.“Jasmine,” Prisca called worriedly, touching my face lightly. “Jasmine, are you okay? Did they hurt you?”She ran her hands over my body in concern. My eyes were stil
-Ariel-I entered my room and closed the door with a loud bang. You entrust some bunch of idiots with a simple task and they ruin it. What is there in killing that girl? It would not take more than five minutes, yet they could not deliver.And that stupid Prisca of a girl, always found where she is not wanted. She had been the one who rushed to raise an alarm about the incident. I hissed loudly and sat heavily on the bed. I was this close, this close to getting rid of Jasmine yet again but she escaped. Thankfully, the incident would not be traced to me because they had managed to escape.Imagine they had been caught, they had better not mention my name because I would deny everything and make sure they get double sanctioned for false accusations on a royalty. I hissed again. Thinking about the whole stuff was so annoying and made my head bang. I felt like screaming out my frustration.I hate Jasmine so much I wish I could strangle her right away and not have to wait on a strategy that
-Prisca-Everyone walked out and I was left alone with Jasmine in her room. I did not plan to stay any longer though, since I had kept my distance recently from her and she had not tried talking me into staying.But I was glad I was able to notice something was off and raised an alarm and now she was fine.“Uhm, make sure to rest okay? You will feel better,” I told her, making for the door. “I will be on my way now.”“Prisca wait,” she said softly.“Yeah? You want me to do something for you?” I asked with a raised brow.“Yes, I want you to sit with me,” she said with a small smile on her face, tapping the side of the bed close to her. I hesitated before walking towards her on the bed and sat down, still looking at her quizzically.“Is everything okay?” I asked her again and she sighed.“Everything is okay Prisca,” she replied. “I just wanted to thank you for saving my life.”“Oh that,” I smiled. “It’s nothing. Besides, you are my friend and I should look out for you. And you should th
-Lara-I woke up with a frown on my face this morning. Today is already a bad day, I decided. Every day was a bad day as far as I am concerned and the alpha is not looking my way. What was more, that stupid Jasmine was rubbing herself all over the place acting like she was more special than everyone else.I was not happy that Adonai was entertaining her too and it was obvious he was beginning to have a thing for her. It makes me sick, knowing my chances with the alpha are getting slimmer by the day because of her.I do not want to be a mistress. The only difference between being a mistress and a maid is the services we render. Sometimes, our existence does not count in the empire. I wonder how Vera and Agatha and so comfortable with being that.As always, they were seated in the parlor we all shared, all of us, except that pompous Jasmine of course, who thinks she is too important to associate herself with us. She does not even eat with us.“Why is your face squeezed this way, Lara?”
-Dante-“So you rushed out to go and save her like that,” I asked Adonai with a raised brow in irritation. I was in his room and he was drawing points on a map. It was how he always looked busy whenever I walked into his room that amazed me.Sometimes, I am tempted to think he was pretending so I would feel intimidated. But not me, whether Adonai was making plans or not and was pretending, I am also making my plans under-ground which he does not see, to de-throne him.“What do you mean by I went out to save her life?” he threw back at me. “What exactly do you mean by like that?”“No because I was wondering, you could send your guards while you sit back in the palace but instead, you were the one who rushed to her first leaving me and every other person with the impression that something is going on between you two we do not know anything about,” I shot at him defiantly.“Dante, Jasmine is a member of my pack and as the alpha, my responsibility. In fact, since she is my mistress, she i
-Aria-Dante walked out with a breeze of annoyance which he left behind and I wondered what it was he was discussing with Adonai who had a knowing grin on his face as he watched him storm out.“Your brother seems to be very mad about something,” I commented casually, guardedly.“How are you doing this morning?” Adonai asked instead, ignoring what I had said. I sighed and decided there was no use pushing it. If I did, it would look more obvious that I was interested in Dante’s mood and was not supposed to be.“I am fine,” I replied with a small smile. “I came to thank you for saving me yesterday.”“You should be more careful next time,” Adonai said, returning to what he was doing. “You might not be so lucky next time.”I suddenly had a feeling he was being deliberately harsh on me but I waved it off. Perhaps, I was overthinking and it was too early to conclude that.However, I could not completely do away with the thought and as I stared at him engrossed in the work behind him, I did n
-Asher-I sat with a long face in the courtroom, listening to all the complaints of the ingrates I had as council members.“We might think that we are lucky to have been just punished by Adonai because he would have taken drastic measures against us and our people but he did not. But as lenient as it seems, we still have to pay a heavy fine,” one of them pointed out and there was a murmur of agreement in the room.“This has taken us to a lower level, even more than we had expected. I mean, I thought the plan was to get our pack elevated, but now the reverse is the case,” another said.“I think we should all calm down,” Derick said. He was the only one who had my back and my most trusted lieutenant in the whole of the pack. I trusted him with all my endeavors and he always supported me. “It is not the alpha’s fault that the plan had not gone as intended. Things like this happen sometimes. Arguing about it within ourselves is never the solution.”“So you tell us what the solution is, De
-Aria-I dragged my feet into the room and opened the door angrily. I stopped halfway into the room to stare at the heap on my bed. I sighed as the realization hit me. It’s just Prisca. She had not gone back home and of course, after the last conversation we had, I had implied I did not mind having her around. After all, she had a habit of sticking around and since I had concluded that she was good to be with me, I did not bother about that.She jumped up when she heard me walk into the room but the smile on her face faded away when it met my frown.“What happened?” she looked at me questioningly.“Nothing,” I replied rather sharply and sat on the edge of the bed grudgingly.“Nothing happened and your face is like this?” she shook her head at me disapprovingly.“You know, I had gone to see Adonai,” I began and quickly added, “To thank him for saving me from those wolves,” because of how she looked at me.“Okay? So what happened?” she pushed.“And then he was acting all special and pri
- Adonai -Aria stopped dead at the door and I quickly pushed Diane off me. She looked surprised for a while that I did then followed my eyes and turned round to the door.She had no expression on her face when she saw Aria. Aria walked away quietly and I ran after her."Aria wait..."But she was too fast and I did not want to create a scene outside where the maids and guards were parading."Shit, shit, shit," I muttered under my breath as I returned to the room. "Why did you do that?"I turned to Diane and she looked confused."Do what?" She asked."Hug me!" I half yelled. "Why did you do it?""Why? I thought you said we were family?" She looked at me and her eyes were getting teary."Yes I did, but..." I did not know what to say anymore. How the hell do I convince Aria that what she saw was not what it looked like?"It's just a hug, right?" Diane said but I was not listening to her. I was thinking of Aria.- Aria -I closed the door behind me and breathed out heavily. It can't be wh
Dante -How can I escape this? The guilt came washing down on me all over again and now Adonai wants that lady to remain in the palace. It was her knowing eyes and strong resolve about her mother's death that gnawed me the most. She seems to know more than we think she does.I couldn't even sleep well, filled with the fear that she might creep in on me. Those ceaseless dreams I had sponsored my worry. There has to be a connection but only I knew and felt it.I strolled out of the palace to clear my head but even while I walked, the same thoughts clouded my mind. I did not know how long I had walked till I began to see trees and realised I was approaching the border.I stopped and sat on a big stone to rest. Not long after, an arrow flew past me, missing my skin with just an inch. I jumped up, and a werewolf pinned me down, scratching my face. I winced and struggled to get it off me but it was quite strong.It stopped fighting and transformed into a beautiful young lady. We remained s
- Adonai -"I don't think this is a good idea, Adonai," Aria said. "I understand you want to console Diane as much as you can but having her in the palace is not a good idea.""And why is that?" I wanted to know."I just don't feel comfortable with it," she crossed her arms over her chest"You were the one who accepted her as a cook here in the first place. You did not see that as a problem until now that we know she is the daughter of a woman who was like family to me. Come on Aria.""You don't understand. It's not about her being Maria's daughter. It's her sneaky behaviour I am concerned about," she stated."She must have acted that way because of the intentions she came with, to find out about her mother's death," I explained, and when I did, I realised that it was no solid reason."She believed we killed her mother!" Aria stressed. " I wonder what gave her the belief but her resolve seems strong. All the words in that meeting did not make any sense to her. I am worried that she st
- Dante -I took two steps backwards instinctively when Diane revealed who she was."I need an explanation as to how my mother died," she said amidst tears, and I looked at Adonai."I have no explanation for that, Diane. I am so sorry for the death of your mother but you must know that we all felt the same," he consoled."You leave me with no choice than to think you killed her then," she said."Why would I kill your mother? She was like a mother to me too. Hell, she took care of me from childhood. She has served this household since my parents were alive. You think I would want to eliminate her?""Everyone knows you, alpha Adonai. You don't have feelings and you don't care about my mother. Stop acting like you do. Because if you did, you would have tried finding those that killed her. But ever since I stepped into the palace, I never heard of you trying to. The only thing you've got are stories. I demand to know how my mother died and why she had to die."My heart ached within me. I
- Zafa -It was such a dramatic evening. I couldn't help admiring Adonai for how well he solved everything. Ken walked away shamefully with the family he almost lost from the fire he created. Those innocent kids would have died because of his foolishness. I hope this teaches him the lesson he has refused to learn all these years.Everyone began to disperse, and I lost track of Loveth in the crowd. My eyes had been on her until she suddenly disappeared. I had wanted to have a word with her after everything had quieted down, but she was just out of my sight the moment I blinked my eyes.Was she avoiding me? Not after the hot night we had, right? Perhaps, she was just shy, or was it the moral guilt? I could not tell which it was. You can never tell with women.I might have to wait till she was done with the running and hiding games. One thing was certain, she wouldn't run forever.- Dianne -I dismissed the rest of the maids after dinner and finished the rest of the clean-up, humming a s
- Zafa -I woke up with a hangover and rolled off the bed. I walked straight to the bathroom to have a bath and felt much better afterward.I returned to find only a heap on the bed. Loveth was nowhere to be found. Now I couldn't remember if she was here when I had gotten off the bed or if she had left earlier.The memories from the previous night came rushing in and I felt a wave of excitement run through my veins. She had come to me.I knew she wouldn't be able to stay away for so long. That's my girl. Which makes things easier for me. I had thought it would take more to get her back but apparently, she was not as hard as she imagined herself to be. Leaving the army to stress me when all she wanted was a good fuck.I would have to let her know though, that doing what we did doesn't mean I had feelings for her. Sex wasn't love. After all, she was the one who came to me. Secondly, I was drunk so it wasn't me taking advantage of her.I knew how women can get when it comes to having sex
- Zafa -What the hell is wrong with me? Why have I allowed my emotions to get to me and make me treat Loveth the way I did?I did not mean to hurt her, even though I was upset with the way she was always with Dante. Now she has withdrawn from the army, and not only do I need her there, but that would mean she would be away from me.I can't have Loveth out. She is one of the best warriors I have."You can't resign...please," I instinctively added the last part. This is not the time to let my ego control my decisions, so I dropped it off and pleaded. But not even that could persuade her. She was rigid, so I decided to meet Aria instead. Perhaps she would listen to me.Aria had a blank look on her face when I spoke to her."Well, what do you want me to do?" She finally said when I was done."You could help me talk to her," I told her."I'm sorry but I can't. Loveth has made her choice and I respect her decision," she said."Luna please," I pleaded. "You know Loveth is one of the best w
- Loveth -"Hey," I heard someone call and turned round slowly, recognising the voice. Not again..."How are you doing today? Loser?""What do you want this time?" I asked Sheila with a sigh. She was facing my existence with those two puppets of hers."Funny of you to think I would want anything from you," she said and they giggled. Talk of sound effects."Well, you keep budging me, leaving me with no choice but to think you want something," I told her, and she frowned."Well maybe I do," she moved closer and pulled my hair to its roots. "Maybe I want you to shut your crab up when I am talking to you.""Let go of me," I sucked in the pain. I would not give her the pleasure. But she still held on, pulling it harder."Or what, you're gonna fight me like you did last time? You never learn, do you? You think you are something because Zafa let you off the hook the last time."I knew she was trying to provoke me to react so she would leverage on it but at the same time, I would not have he
- Loveth -I did not know how I lost hold of my emotions and fell into Dante's ready arms. Love for Zafa was causing me so much pain, and he was doing it intentionally, yet I could not help it."What is the matter, Loveth?" Dante asked softly into my ears and I was tempted to tell him. I moved away and wiped my tears."I'll be fine," I said with a smile."Are you sure?" He asked with a look of concern on his face. "You can tell me anything.""I know and I appreciate you for your concern.""Hmm," he breathed out, observing me. "You promise?""Yeah." But even as I said that more tears gathered in my eyes, and I had to leave quickly.Immediately, I made a turn, and someone grabbed me roughly by the arm."What the hell," I gasped in pain and turned round to meet the angry eyes of Zafa piercing into mine."What is wrong with you?" He said between gritted teeth."You're hurting me," I struggled to get out of his grip while wondering what the hell he was talking about."Are you so cheap that